Daniel doing his magic. Fran Macy, myself, Jay Harman (Pax Scientific) and Lee Swenson looking on.
Regardless of how close or distant, we are all lucky that Daniel and Patricia Ellsberg have been in our lives. I was so fortunate to have intersected their circles by way of a couple of orbits – one through Patricia’s concern for our planet and my environmental work, and another through my association with Lee Swenson and Vajaya Nagarajan, who’s home in Berkeley hosted so many gatherings of thinkers and social activists interested cultivating the notion and recovery of the Commons.
Neither of these intersections with Daniel and Patricia were ‘serious’ because both of them were almost playful around these very important topics. A sort of – almost innocent perspective – of “of course! why wouldn’t you?” attitude, completely un-conflicted by the concerns that many of us might have about our own work.
I remember delighting around the piano at their Berkley Hills home. Daniel was quite a competent classical piano player, with hands firmly on Chopin and – as I recall – Brahms alike, and his marveling at my humble jazz efforts. And then Daniel’s prestidigitations at a number of birthday parties for Lee and Vajaya’s lovely twin daughters, Uma and Jaya. These were so ‘Daniel’ – taking a simple thing like a deck of cards, a couple of balls and a cup, or a large bundle of dry papers, and by way of his navigating our collective imagination, inspiring us through transformations that made the world a much better place – through our delight, and through our consequent actions.
Daniel passed on to the Spirit World just a week ago. In Daniel’s case I don’t believe that “Rest in Peace” really fits. I would rather wish his spirit to continuously “Play in the Perimeters.”
What a lovely tribute to a complicated man. Thank you for the insight.